Release Notes for Debian GNU/Linux 3.1 (`sarge'), Alpha
-------------------------------------------------------
Josip Rodin, Bob Hilliard, Adam Di Carlo, Anne Bezemer, Rob Bradford
(current), Frans Pop (current)
$Id: release-notes.en.sgml,v 1.71 2006/09/18 13:21:10 fjp Exp $
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Contents
--------
1. What's new in the Release Notes
1.1. Changes in the Release Notes
2. What's new in Debian GNU/Linux 3.1
2.1. What's new in the distribution?
2.1.1. New service debian-volatile
2.1.2. non-US obsoleted
2.2. What's new in the installation system?
3. New installations
3.1. Popularity contest
4. Upgrades from previous releases
4.1. Preparing for the upgrade
4.2. Checking system status
4.2.1. Disabling APT pinning
4.2.2. Checking packages status
4.2.3. Unofficial sources and backports
4.3. Preparing sources for APT
4.3.1. Adding APT Internet sources
4.3.2. Adding APT sources for a local mirror
4.3.3. Adding APT source from CD-ROM or DVD
4.4. Upgrading packages
4.4.1. Updating the package list
4.4.2. Upgrading aptitude
4.4.3. Upgrading doc-base
4.4.4. Upgrading the rest of the system
4.4.5. Possible issues during upgrade
4.5. Things to do before rebooting
4.5.1. Upgrading your kernel
4.5.2. Upgrading from raidtools2 to mdadm
4.6. Obsolete packages
4.6.1. Dummy packages
5. Issues to be aware of for sarge
5.1. Changes to Python packages
5.2. Upgrading to a 2.6 kernel
5.2.1. Keyboard configuration
5.2.2. Mouse configuration
5.2.3. Sound configuration
5.2.4. Switching to 2.6 may activate udev
6. More information on Debian GNU/Linux
6.1. Further reading
6.2. Getting help
6.2.1. Mailing lists
6.2.2. Internet Relay Chat
6.3. Reporting bugs
6.4. Contributing to Debian
A. Managing your woody system
A.1. Upgrading your woody system
A.2. Installing woody version of aptitude
A.3. Checking your sources list
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1. What's new in the Release Notes
----------------------------------
[The most recent version of this document is always available at
http://www.debian.org/releases/stable/releasenotes. If your version
is more than a month old, you might wish to download the latest
version.]
Please note that starting with Debian GNU/Linux 3.1, we only support
and document upgrading from the previous release of Debian (in this
case, the upgrade from woody). If you need to upgrade from older
releases, we suggest you read previous editions of the release notes.
1.1. Changes in the Release Notes
---------------------------------
This section lists changes in the Release Notes since the original
version that was published with Debian GNU/Linux 3.1r0. Minor textual
corrections are omitted.
* Improved description on module loading for ALSA in Section 5.2.3,
`Sound configuration'.
* Document upgrading from raidtools2 to mdadm in Section 4.5.2,
`Upgrading from raidtools2 to mdadm'.
* `aptitude' uses a different method for registering packages that
are on hold than `apt-get' and `dselect'. Properly document how
hold status can be checked and set in Chapter 4, `Upgrades from
previous releases'.
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2. What's new in Debian GNU/Linux 3.1
-------------------------------------
The list of supported architectures has not changed since the previous
release, Debian GNU/Linux 3.0 ('woody'). Here is the full list of
architectures for this release.
* Intel x86 ('i386')
* Motorola 680x0 ('m68k')
* Alpha ('alpha')
* SPARC ('sparc')
* PowerPC ('powerpc')
* ARM ('arm')
* MIPS ('mips' (Big endian) and 'mipsel' (Little endian))
* Intel Itanium ('ia64')
* HP PA-RISC ('hppa')
* S/390 ('s390')
You can read more about port status, and port-specific information for
your architecture at the Debian port web pages
(http://www.debian.org/ports/alpha/).
Debian GNU/Linux 3.1 for the Alpha architecture ships with kernel
version 2.4.27.
On the Alpha architecture a 2.6 kernel is also available; this has
kernel version 2.6.8. Note that Debian's 2.6.8 kernel packages
include the 2.6.8.1 kernel release and selected other patches.
2.1. What's new in the distribution?
------------------------------------
This new release of Debian again comes with a lot more software than
its predecessor woody; the distribution includes over 9000 new
packages. Most of the software in the distribution has been updated:
almost 6500 software packages (that is 73% of the number of packages
in woody). Also, a significant number of packages has for various
reasons been removed from the distribution. You will not see any
updates for these packages and they will be marked as 'obsolete' in
package management front-ends.
This release of Debian GNU/Linux contains the much improved XFree86
4.3 release, which includes support for a greater range of hardware,
better autodetection support, and improved support for advanced
technologies such as Xinerama and 3D acceleration.
Debian GNU/Linux is more desktop orientated than ever in this new
release, it now includes GNOME 2.8 and KDE 3.3. Also included for the
first time is a complete office suite in the form of OpenOffice.org
1.1, other productivity tools included in the release are the
Evolution groupware software and GAIM instant messaging client.
The sarge version of `aptitude' is the preferred program for package
management from console. It has proven to be better at dependency
resolution than `apt-get'. `aptitude' supports most command line
operations of `apt-get'. If you are still using `dselect', you should
also give `aptitude' a try as frontend for package management.
The official Debian GNU/Linux distribution now ships on thirteen to
fifteen binary CDs (depending on the architecture) and a similar
number of source CDs. A DVD version of the distribution is now also
available.
2.1.1. New service debian-volatile
----------------------------------
There is a new service _debian-volatile_ allowing users to easily
update stable packages that contain information that quickly goes out
of date. Examples are a virus scanner's signatures list or a spam
filter's pattern set. An administrator can use the
"volatile.debian.net" archive with similar ease to the
"security.debian.org" archive, and enjoy the use of packages with
up-to-date information without the hassle and risks of maintaining an
entire (or partial) system based on bleeding-edge packages. For more
information and a list of mirrors, please see the archive's web page
(http://volatile.debian.net/).
Note that debian-volatile is _not_ an official Debian service. Use it
at your own discretion.
2.1.2. non-US obsoleted
-----------------------
For the sarge release, packages that were formerly in the non-US part
of the archive have been moved into the regular archive. If you have
any lines referring to "non-us" in your `/etc/apt/sources.list', you
should remove them.
2.2. What's new in the installation system?
-------------------------------------------
The old Debian GNU/Linux installation system has been replaced by a
completely new installation system called `debian-installer'. The new
installation system is modular in design and so has been developed
with extensibility in mind. It has been fully translated into almost
forty languages; additional translations are in progress and may be
added in point releases for sarge.
Some of the new features in the installation system include improved
hardware detection, support for booting off USB flash devices, the use
of `aptitude' to install packages during configuration of the base
system, and support for the `XFS' file system, `RAID' and `LVM'
(logical volume management).
For full details on the new Debian installation system, users are
advised to read the Debian Installation Guide included on the first CD
or available from the release pages
(http://www.debian.org/releases/stable/installmanual). The
Installation Guide has been fully translated into eight languages and
more are being worked on. Additional translations will be made
available from the website when completed.
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3. New installations
--------------------
The old Debian GNU/Linux installation system called `boot-floppies'
has been replaced by a new componentized and more powerful
installation system called `debian-installer'.
The installer offers a variety of installation methods. Which methods
are available to install your system depends on your architecture.
If you are making a new installation of Debian, you should read the
Installation Guide, which is available on the Official CD at:
/doc/install/manual//index.html
or on the Internet from the sarge release pages
(http://www.debian.org/releases/stable/installmanual). You may also
want to check the errata
(http://www.debian.org/releases/stable/debian-installer/index#errata)
for debian-installer.
The new installer can only be used to install on alpha systems which
support the SRM console. Be sure to switch your system to SRM before
starting the installation. If your machine supports only the
AlphaBIOS/ARC console, you can still install sarge using a (minimal)
woody installation and a subsequent upgrade. For more information
about the different consoles please read the references on the Debian
alpha port web pages (http://www.debian.org/ports/alpha).
3.1. Popularity contest
-----------------------
For technical reasons the `popularity-contest' package is no longer
installed by default for new sarge installations. This will probably
be corrected in future releases.
`popularity-contest' provides the Debian project with valuable
information on which packages in the distribution are actually used.
This information is used mainly to decide the order in which packages
are included on installation CD-ROMs, but is also often consulted by
Debian developers in deciding whether or not to adopt a package that
no longer has a maintainer.
Information from `popularity-contest' is processed anonymously. We
would appreciate it if you install the package and allow it to
participate in the official survey; you will thereby help improve
Debian.
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4. Upgrades from previous releases
----------------------------------
4.1. Preparing for the upgrade
------------------------------
Before upgrading your system, it is strongly recommended that you make
a full backup, or at least backup any data or configuration
information you can't afford to lose. The upgrade tools and process
are quite reliable, but a hardware failure in the middle of an upgrade
could result in a severely damaged system.
The main things you'll want to back up are the contents of `/etc',
`/var/lib/dpkg' and the output of `dpkg --get-selections "*"' (the
quotes are important).
The upgrade process in itself does not modify anything in the `/home'
directory. However, some applications (e.g. Mozilla, some KDE
applications) are known to overwrite existing user settings with new
defaults when a new version of the application is first started by a
user. As a precaution, you may want to make a backup of the hidden
files and directories ("dotfiles") in users' home directories. This
backup may help to restore or recreate the old settings. You may also
want to inform users about this issue.
It's wise to inform all users in advance of any upgrades you're
planning, although users accessing your system via SSH (at least)
shouldn't notice much during the upgrade, and may want to continue
working. If you wish to take extra precautions, back up or unmount
user's partitions (`/home') before upgrading. A reboot will not
normally be necessary, unless you plan to also upgrade your kernel.
Distribution upgrade should be done either locally from a textmode
virtual console (or a directly connected serial terminal), or remotely
via an `ssh' link.
_Important!_ You should _not_ upgrade using `telnet', `rlogin', `rsh',
or from an X session managed by `xdm', `gdm' or `kdm' etc on the
machine you are upgrading. That is because each of those services may
well be terminated during the upgrade, which can result in an
_inaccessible_ system that is only half-upgraded.
Any package installation operation must be run with superuser
privileges, so either login as root or use `su' or `sudo' to gain the
necessary access rights.
4.2. Checking system status
---------------------------
The upgrade process described in this chapter has been designed for
upgrades from "pure" woody systems. It assumes your system has been
updated to the latest point release of woody. If you have not or are
unsure, follow the instructions in Section A.1, `Upgrading your woody
system'.
It also assumes you have the woody version of `aptitude' installed.
You can check if it is installed using
$ dpkg -l aptitude
If the line of output does _not_ begin with "i", you should install it
before you start the upgrade using the instructions in Section A.2,
`Installing woody version of aptitude'.
4.2.1. Disabling APT pinning
----------------------------
If you have configured APT to install certain packages from a
distribution other than stable (e.g. from testing), you may have to
change your APT pinning configuration (stored in
`/etc/apt/preferences') to allow the upgrade of packages to the
versions in the new stable release. Further information on APT
pinning can be found in apt_preferences(5).
4.2.2. Checking packages status
-------------------------------
Regardless of the method used for upgrading, it is recommended that
you check the status of all packages first, and verify that all
packages are in an upgradable state. The following command will show
any packages which have a status of Half-Installed or Failed-Config,
and those with any error status.
# dpkg --audit
You could also inspect the state of all packages on your system using
`dselect', `aptitude', or with commands such as
# dpkg -l | pager
or
# dpkg --get-selections > ~/curr-pkgs.txt
It is desirable to remove any holds before upgrading. If any package
that is essential for the upgrade is on hold, the upgrade will fail.
Note that `aptitude' uses a different method for registering packages
that are on hold than `apt-get' and `dselect'. You can identify
packages on hold for `aptitude' with
# aptitude search "~ahold" | grep "^.h"
If you want to check which packages you had on hold for `apt-get', you
should use
# dpkg --get-selections | grep hold
If you changed and recompiled a package locally, and didn't rename it
or put an epoch in the version, you must put it on hold to prevent it
from being upgraded. The "hold" package state for `aptitude' can be
changed using (replace `hold' with `unhold' to unset the "hold"
state):
# aptitude hold
If there is anything you need to fix, it is best to make sure your
`sources.list' still refers to woody as explained in Section A.3,
`Checking your sources list'.
4.2.3. Unofficial sources and backports
---------------------------------------
If you have any non-Debian packages on your system, you should be
aware that these may be removed during the upgrade because of
conflicting dependencies. If these packages were installed by adding
an extra package archive in your `/etc/apt/sources.list', you should
check if that archive also offers packages compiled for sarge and
change the source line accordingly at the same time as your source
lines for Debian packages.
Some users may have unofficial backported "newer" versions of packages
that _are_ in Debian installed on their woody system. Such packages
are most likely to cause problems during an upgrade as they may result
in file conflicts[1]. Section Section 4.4.5, `Possible issues during
upgrade' has some information on how to deal with file conflicts if
they should occur.
[1] Debian's package management system normally does not allow a package
to remove or replace a file owned by another package; not unless it
has been defined to replace that package.
4.3. Preparing sources for APT
------------------------------
Before starting the upgrade you must set up `apt''s configuration file
for package lists, `/etc/apt/sources.list'.
`apt' will consider all packages that can be found via any "`deb'"
line, and install the package with the highest version number, giving
priority to the first mentioned lines (that way, in case of multiple
mirror locations, you'd typically first name a local harddisk, then
CD-ROMs, and then HTTP/FTP mirrors).
A release can often be referred to by both its codename (e.g. woody,
sarge) and by its status name (i.e. oldstable, stable, testing,
unstable). Referring to a release by its codename has the advantage
that you will never be surprised by a new release and for this reason
is the approach taken here. It does of course mean that you will have
to watch out for release announcements yourself. If you use the
status name instead, you will just see loads of updates for packages
available as soon as a release has happened.
4.3.1. Adding APT Internet sources
----------------------------------
The default configuration is set up for installation from main Debian
Internet servers, but you may wish to modify `/etc/apt/sources.list'
to use other mirrors, preferably a mirror that is network-wise closest
to you.
Debian HTTP or FTP mirror addresses can be found at
http://www.debian.org/distrib/ftplist (look at the "Full list of
mirrors" section). HTTP mirrors are generally speedier than FTP
mirrors.
For example, suppose your closest Debian mirror is
`http://mirrors.kernel.org/debian/'. When inspecting that mirror with
a web browser or FTP program, you will notice that the main
directories are organized like this:
http://mirrors.kernel.org/debian/dists/sarge/main/binary-alpha/...
http://mirrors.kernel.org/debian/dists/sarge/contrib/binary-alpha/...
To use this mirror with `apt', you add this line to your
`sources.list' file:
deb http://mirrors.kernel.org/debian sarge main contrib
Note that the ``dists'' is added implicitly, and the arguments after
the release name are used to expand the path into multiple
directories.
After adding your new sources, disable the previously existing "`deb'"
lines in `sources.list', by placing a hash sign (`#') in front of
them.
Any package needed for installation that is fetched from the network
is stored in `/var/cache/apt/archives' (and the `partial/'
subdirectory, during download), so you must make sure you have enough
space before attempting to start the installation. With a reasonably
extended Debian installation, you can expect at least 300 MB of
downloaded data.
4.3.2. Adding APT sources for a local mirror
--------------------------------------------
Instead of using HTTP or FTP packages mirrors, you may wish to modify
`/etc/apt/sources.list' to use a mirror on a local disk (possibly
mounted over NFS).
For example, your packages mirror may be under `/var/ftp/debian/', and
have main directories like this:
/var/ftp/debian/dists/sarge/main/binary-alpha/...
/var/ftp/debian/dists/sarge/contrib/binary-alpha/...
To use this with `apt', add this line to your `sources.list' file:
deb file:/var/ftp/debian sarge main contrib
Note that the ``dists'' is added implicitly, and the arguments after
the release name are used to expand the path into multiple
directories.
After adding your new sources, disable the previously existing "`deb'"
lines in `sources.list', by placing a hash sign (`#') in front of
them.
4.3.3. Adding APT source from CD-ROM or DVD
-------------------------------------------
If you want to use CDs _only_, comment out the existing "`deb'" lines
in `/etc/apt/sources.list' by placing a hash sign (`#') in front of
them.
Make sure there is a line in `/etc/fstab' that enables mounting your
CD-ROM drive at the `/cdrom' mount point (the exact `/cdrom' mount
point is required for `apt-cdrom'). For example, if `/dev/hdc' is
your CD-ROM drive, `/etc/fstab' should contain a line like:
/dev/hdc /cdrom auto defaults,noauto,ro 0 0
Note that there must be _no spaces_ between the words
`defaults,noauto,ro' in the fourth field.
To verify it works, insert a CD and try running
# mount /cdrom # this will mount the CD to the mount point
# ls -alF /cdrom # this should show the CD's root directory
# umount /cdrom # this will unmount the CD
Next, run:
# apt-cdrom add
for each Debian Binary CD-ROM you have, to add the data about each CD
to APT's database.
4.4. Upgrading packages
-----------------------
The recommended tool for upgrading between Debian GNU/Linux releases
is to use the package management tool `aptitude'. This tool makes
safer decisions about package installations than running `apt-get'
directly.
Don't forget to mount all needed partitions (notably the root and
`/usr' partitions) read-write, with a command like:
# mount -o remount,rw /
Next you should double check that the APT source entries (in
`/etc/apt/sources.list') refer either to "`sarge'" or to "`stable'".
Note: source lines for a CD-ROM will often refer to "`unstable'";
although this may be confusing, you should _not_ change it.
It is strongly recommended that you use the `/usr/bin/script' program
to record a transcript of the upgrade session. Then if a problem
occurs, you will have a log of what happened, and if needed, can
provide exact information in a bug report. To start the recording,
type:
# script -a ~/upgrade-to-sarge.typescript
or similar. Do not put the typescript file in a temporary directory
such as `/tmp' or `/var/tmp' (files in those directories may be
deleted during the upgrade or during any restart).
The typescript will also allow you to review information that has
scrolled off-screen. Just switch to VT2 (using `Alt-F2') and, after
logging in, use `less ~root/upgrade-to-sarge.typescript' to view the
file.
After you have completed the upgrade, you can stop `script' by typing
`exit' at the prompt.
4.4.1. Updating the package list
--------------------------------
First the list of available packages for the new release needs to be
fetched. This is done by executing[1]:
# apt-get update
[1] We use `apt-get' for this because the woody version `aptitude' may
fail when new sources have been added to `sources.list'.
4.4.2. Upgrading aptitude
-------------------------
Upgrade tests have shown that sarge's version of `aptitude' is better
at solving the complex dependencies during an upgrade than either
`apt-get' or woody's `aptitude'. It should therefore be upgraded
first using:
# aptitude install aptitude
You will be shown a list of the changes that will be made and asked
you to confirm them. You should take a careful look at the proposed
changes, especially packages that will be removed by the upgrade,
before you confirm.
In some cases if a large number of packages is listed for removal, you
may be able to reduce this list by "pre-upgrading" selected other
packages alongside `aptitude'. An example may clarify this. During
upgrade tests for systems having KDE installed, we have seen that this
step would cause removal of a large number of KDE packages and/or
perl. The solution proved to be to `install aptitude perl' instead of
`install aptitude'.
4.4.3. Upgrading doc-base
-------------------------
_If you have `doc-base' installed_, it must be upgraded before the
rest of the system too. Reason is that it may fail if `perl' is
upgraded at the same time. You can find out if it is installed using:
# dpkg -l doc-base
If the line of output begins with "i" then it is installed and must be
upgraded before continuing.
# aptitude install doc-base
4.4.4. Upgrading the rest of the system
---------------------------------------
You are now ready to continue with the main part of the upgrade.
Execute:
# aptitude -f --with-recommends dist-upgrade
This will perform a complete upgrade of the system, i.e. install the
newest available versions of all packages, and resolve all possible
dependency changes between packages in different releases. If
necessary, it will install some new packages (usually new library
versions, or renamed packages), and remove any conflicting obsoleted
packages (such as `console-tools-libs').
When upgrading from a set of CD-ROMs, you will be asked to insert
specific CDs at several points during the upgrade. You might have to
insert the same CD multiple times; this is due to inter-related
packages that have been spread out over the CDs.
New versions of currently installed packages that cannot be upgraded
without changing the install status of another package will be left at
their current version (displayed as "held back"). This can be
resolved by either using `aptitude' to choose these packages for
installation or by trying `aptitude -f install '.
The `--fix-broken' (or just `-f') option causes `apt' to attempt to
correct a system with broken dependencies in place. `apt' does not
allow broken package dependencies to exist on a system.
4.4.5. Possible issues during upgrade
-------------------------------------
If an operation using `aptitude', `apt-get' or `dpkg' fails with the
error
E: Dynamic MMap ran out of room
the default cache space is insufficient. You can solve this by either
removing or commenting lines you don't need in `/etc/apt/sources.list'
or by increasing the cache size. The cache size can be increased by
setting `APT::Cache-Limit' in `/etc/apt/apt.conf'. The following
command will set it to a value that should be sufficient for the
upgrade:
# echo 'APT::Cache-Limit "12500000";' >> /etc/apt/apt.conf
This assumes that you do not yet have this variable set in that file.
Sometimes it's necessary to enable APT::Force-LoopBreak option in APT
to be able to temporarily remove an essential package due to a
Conflicts/Pre-Depends loop. `aptitude' will alert you of this and
abort the upgrade. You can work around that by specifying `-o
APT::Force-LoopBreak=1' option on `aptitude' command line.
It is possible that a system's dependency structure can be so corrupt
as to require manual intervention. Usually this means using
`aptitude' or
# dpkg --remove
to eliminate some of the offending packages, or
# aptitude --fix-broken install
# dpkg --configure --pending
In extreme cases you might have to force re-installation with a
command like
# dpkg --install
File conflicts should not occur if you upgrade from a "pure" woody
system, but can occur if you have unofficial backports installed. A
file conflict will result in an error like:
Unpacking replacement <> ...
dpkg: error processing <> (--unpack):
trying to overwrite `<>',
which is also in package <>
You can try to solve a file conflict by forcibly removing the package
mentioned on the _last_ line of the error message:
# dpkg -r --force-depends
After fixing things up, you should be able to resume the upgrade by
repeating the previously described `aptitude' commands.
During the upgrade, you will be asked questions regarding the
configuration or re-configuration of several packages. When you are
asked if any file in the `/etc/init.d' or `/etc/terminfo' directories,
or the `/etc/manpath.config' file should be replaced by the package
maintainer's version, it's usually necessary to answer `yes' to ensure
system consistency. You can always revert to the old versions, since
they will be saved with a `.dpkg-old' extension.
If you're not sure what to do, write down the name of the package or
file, and sort things out at a later time. You can search in the
typescript file to review the information that was on the screen
during the upgrade.
4.5. Things to do before rebooting
----------------------------------
When `aptitude dist-upgrade' has finished, the "formal" upgrade is
complete, but there are some other things that should be taken care of
_before_ the next reboot.
Read `/usr/share/doc/xfree86-common/README.Debian-upgrade.gz' for more
info on the upgrade of the X window system packages. This is relevant
for users of all previous Debian releases. In short, you need to read
it.
4.5.1. Upgrading your kernel
----------------------------
Note that the Linux kernel was _not_ upgraded by these procedures.
You may wish to do so yourself, either by installing one of the
`kernel-image-*' packages or by compiling a customized kernel from
sources.
If you are currently using a kernel from the 2.4 series, the older
stable Linux kernel series, you may wish to upgrade to a 2.6 series
kernel for better hardware support or improved performance.
However, you are strongly advised _not_ to upgrade to a 2.6 kernel as
part of the upgrade from woody to sarge. Some issues associated with
an upgrade to 2.6 are documented in Section 5.2, `Upgrading to a 2.6
kernel'.
To upgrade your kernel you must first choose the kernel most
appropriate for your subarchitecture. A list of kernels available for
you to install can be found with:
# apt-cache search ^kernel-image
You should then use `aptitude install' to install it. Once this new
kernel is installed you should reboot at the next available
opportunity to get the benefit.
Please note that the installation system of woody (and previous
releases) did _not_ install the kernel as a package in your system.
This has changed in sarge and you can install virtual packages to keep
track of kernel changes. These packages are named
kernel-image-`VERSION'-`ARCH', with `VERSION' corresponding to the
kernel version number (2.4 or 2.6) and `ARCH' corresponding to any of
the supported architectures. If you want to have security support for
the kernel integrated in package management please install the kernel
package most suitable for your hardware after the upgrade.
For the more adventurous there is an easy way to compile your own
custom kernel on Debian GNU/Linux. Install the `kernel-package' tool
and read the documentation in `/usr/share/doc/kernel-package'.
4.5.2. Upgrading from raidtools2 to mdadm
-----------------------------------------
`raidtools2' is no longer maintained by its upstream developers and
has been replaced by the `mdadm' package. `mdadm' is a single program
that can perform almost any RAID management task without a
configuration file; by default it does not use one.
The remainder of this section gives some upgrade hints for users of
`raidtools2'.
As mentioned above, in many cases `mdadm' can work without
configuration file. If you use a kernel that automatically configures
the RAID array for you, can skip this paragraph --- you merely have to
install the package `mdadm' and the RAID will be detected during the
boot process. The standard kernels in Debian have support for the
configuration of RAID arrays on boot. You also need to make sure that
the partitions are set to type "Linux raid autodetect" (id `fd'). The
following command will list the current type of partitions:
# fdisk -l
If you have a mixed setup with some RAID arrays that are
auto-configured and some that are not, you have to create a
configuration file.
To migrate from the configuration file `/etc/raidtab' (`raidtools2')
to `/etc/mdadm/mdadm.conf' (`mdadm'), please execute:
# echo 'DEVICE /dev/hd*[0-9] /dev/sd*[0-9]' > /etc/mdadm/mdadm.conf
# mdadm --examine --scan >> /etc/mdadm/mdadm.conf
These commands will generate a configuration file with the existing
arrays on the system.
You should also make sure that the RAID arrays are started
automatically on boot. Check the file `/etc/default/mdadm' to see if
the variable AUTOSTART is set to `true'.
4.6. Obsolete packages
----------------------
Introducing several thousand new packages, sarge also retires and
omits more than two thousand old packages that were in woody. It
provides no upgrade path for these obsolete packages. While nothing
prevents you from continuing to use an obsolete package where desired,
the Debian project will usually discontinue security support for it a
year after sarge's release[1], and will not normally provide other
support in the meantime. Replacing them with available alternatives,
if any, is recommended.
There are many reasons why packages might have been removed from the
distribution: they are no longer maintained upstream; there is no
longer a Debian Developer interested in maintaining the packages; the
functionality they provide has been superseded by different software
(or a new version); or they are no longer considered suitable for
sarge due to bugs in them. In the later case, packages might still be
present in the "unstable" distribution.
Detecting which packages in an updated system are "obsolete" is easy
since the package management front-ends will mark them as such. If
you are using `aptitude', you will see a listing of these packages in
the "Obsolete and Locally Created Packages" entry. `dselect' provides
a similar section but the listing it presents might differ. Also, if
you have used `aptitude' to manually install packages in woody it will
have kept track of those packages you manually installed and will be
able to mark as obsolete those packages pulled in by dependencies
alone which are no longer needed if a package has been removed. Also,
`aptitude', unlike `deborphan' will not mark as obsolete packages that
you manually installed, as opposed to those that were automatically
installed through dependencies.
There are additional tools you can use to find obsolete packages such
as `deborphan', `debfoster' or `cruft'. `deborphan' is highly
recommended, although it will (in default mode) only report obsolete
libraries: packages in the "libs" or "oldlibs" sections that are not
used by any other packages. Do not blindly remove the packages these
tools present, especially if you are using aggressive non-default
options that are prone to produce false positives. It is highly
recommended that you manually review the packages suggested for
removal (i.e. their contents, size and description) before you remove
them.
The Debian Bug Tracking System (http://bugs.debian.org/) often
provides additional information on why the package was removed. You
should review both the archived bug reports for the package itself and
the archived bug reports for the ftp.debian.org pseudo-package
(http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/pkgreport.cgi?pkg=ftp.debian.org&archive=yes).
[1] Or for as long as there is not another release in that time frame.
Typically only two stable releases are supported at any given time.
4.6.1. Dummy packages
---------------------
Some packages from woody have been split into several packages in
sarge, often to improve system maintainability. To ease the upgrade
path in such cases, sarge often provides "dummy" packages: empty
packages that have the same name as the old package in woody with
dependencies that cause the new packages to be installed. These
"dummy" packages are considered obsolete packages after the upgrade
and can be safely removed.
Most (but not all) dummy packages' descriptions indicate their
purpose. Package descriptions for dummy packages are not uniform,
however, so you might also find `deborphan' with the `--guess' options
useful to detect them in your system. Note that some dummy packages
are not intended to be removed after an upgrade but are, instead, used
to keep track of the current available version of a program over time.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5. Issues to be aware of for sarge
----------------------------------
5.1. Changes to Python packages
-------------------------------
None of the python2.X packages that are included with sarge include
the standard modules 'profile' and 'pstats', because they are licensed
under a license that does not conform to the DFSG (see bug #293932 for
details). These two modules can be found in the python-profiler and
python2.X-profiler packages that are included in the non-free section
of the Debian archive.
5.2. Upgrading to a 2.6 kernel
------------------------------
The 2.6 kernel series contains major changes from the 2.4 series.
Modules have been renamed and a lot of drivers have been partially or
sometimes almost completely rewritten. Upgrading to a 2.6 kernel from
an earlier version is therefore not a process to be undertaken
lightly. This section aims to make you aware of some of the issues
you may face.
You are therefore strongly advised not to upgrade to a 2.6 kernel as
part of the upgrade from woody to sarge. Instead, you should first
make sure your system works correctly with either the old kernel or
with a 2.4 kernel from sarge and do the upgrade to a 2.6 kernel later
as a separate project.
If you compile your own kernel from source, make sure you install
`module-init-tools' before you reboot with the 2.6 kernel. This
package replaces `modutils' for 2.6 kernels. If you install one of
the Debian `kernel-image' packages, this package will be installed
automatically because of dependencies.
If you use _LVM_, you should also install `lvm2' before you reboot as
the 2.6 kernel does not directly support LVM1. To access LVM1
volumes, the compatibility layer of `lvm2' (the dm-mod module) is
used. You can leave `lvm10' installed; the init scripts will detect
which kernel is used and execute the appropriate version.
If you have entries in the `/etc/modules' file (the list of modules to
be loaded during system boot), be aware that some module names may
have changed. If this happens you will have to update this file with
the new module names.
Once you have installed your 2.6 kernel, but before you reboot, make
sure you have a recovery method. First, make sure that the bootloader
configuration has entries for both the new kernel and the old, working
2.4 kernel. You should also ensure you have a "rescue" floppy or
cdrom to hand, in case misconfiguration of the bootloader prevents you
booting the old kernel.
5.2.1. Keyboard configuration
-----------------------------
The most invasive change in the 2.6 kernels is a fundamental change of
the input layer. This change makes all keyboards look like "normal"
PC keyboards. This means that if you currently have a different type
of keyboard selected (e.g. a USB-MAC or Sun keyboard), you will very
likely end up with a non-working keyboard after rebooting with the new
2.6 kernel.
If you can SSH into the box from another system, you can resolve this
issue by running `dpkg-reconfigure console-data', choosing the option
"Select keymap from full list" and selecting a "pc" keyboard.
If your console keyboard is affected, you will probably also need to
reconfigure your keyboard for the X Window System. You can do this
either by running `dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xfree86' or by editing
`/etc/X11/XF86Config-4' directly. Don't forget to read the
documentation referred to in Section 4.5, `Things to do before
rebooting'.
Note that if you are using a USB keyboard, this may be configured as
either a "normal" PC keyboard or as a USB-MAC keyboard. In the first
case you will not be affected by this issue.
5.2.2. Mouse configuration
--------------------------
Again because of the changes in the input layer, you may have to
reconfigure the X Window System and `gpm' if your mouse is not working
after upgrading to a 2.6 kernel. The most likely cause is that the
device which gets the data from the mouse has changed. You may also
need to load different modules.
5.2.3. Sound configuration
--------------------------
For the 2.6 kernel series the ALSA sound drivers are recommended over
the older OSS sound drivers. ALSA sound drivers are provided as
modules by default. In order for sound to work, the ALSA modules
appropriate for your sound hardware need to be loaded. In general this
will happen automatically if you have, in addition to the `alsa-base'
package, either the `hotplug' package or the `discover' package
installed. The `alsa-base' package also "blacklists" OSS modules to
prevent `hotplug' and `discover' from loading them. If you have OSS
modules listed in `/etc/modules', you should remove them.
5.2.4. Switching to 2.6 may activate udev
-----------------------------------------
`udev' is a userspace implementation of devfs. It is mounted over the
`/dev' directory and will populate that directory with devices
supported by the kernel. It will also dynamically add and remove
devices as kernel modules are loaded or unloaded respectively, working
together with `hotplug' to detect new devices. `udev' works only with
2.6 kernels.
As `udev' is automatically installed as a dependency of e.g. `gnome',
there is a chance that upgrading to a 2.6 kernel will result in `udev'
being activated.
Although `udev' has been tested extensively, you may experience minor
problems with some devices that will need to be fixed. The most
common problems are changed permission and/or ownership of a device.
In some cases a device may not be created by default (e.g.
`/dev/video' and `/dev/radio').
`udev' provides configuration mechanisms to deal with these issues.
See udev(8) and `/etc/udev' for further information.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6. More information on Debian GNU/Linux
---------------------------------------
6.1. Further reading
--------------------
Beyond these release notes and the installation guide further
documentation on Debian GNU/Linux is available from the Debian
Documentation Project (DDP), whose goal is to create high quality
documentation for Debian users and developers. Documentation
including the Debian Guide, Debian New Maintainers Guide, and Debian
FAQ are available, and many more. For full details of the resources
available see the DDP website (http://www.debian.org/doc/ddp).
Documentation for individual packages is installed into
`/usr/share/doc/', this may include copyright information,
Debian specific details and any upstream documentation.
6.2. Getting help
-----------------
There are many sources of help, advice and support for Debian users,
but these should only be considered if research into documentation of
the issue has exhausted all sources. This section provides a short
introduction into these which may be helpful for new Debian users.
6.2.1. Mailing lists
--------------------
The mailing lists of most interest to Debian users are the debian-user
list (English) and other debian-user- lists (for other
languages). For information on these lists and details of how to
subscribe see http://lists.debian.org/. Please check the archives for
answers to your question prior to posting and also adhere to standard
list etiquette.
6.2.2. Internet Relay Chat
--------------------------
Debian has an IRC channel dedicated to the support and aid of Debian
users located on the Freenode IRC network which exists to provide
interactive services to peer-directed project communities. To access
the channel point your favourite IRC client at irc.debian.org and join
#debian.
Please follow the channel guidelines, respecting other users fully.
For more information on Freenode please visit the website
(http://freenode.net/).
6.3. Reporting bugs
-------------------
We strive to make Debian GNU/Linux a high quality operating system,
however that does not mean that the packages we provide are totally
free of bugs. Consistent with Debian's "open development" philosophy
and as a service to our users, we provide all the information on
reported bugs at our own Bug Tracking System (BTS). The BTS is
browseable at bugs.debian.org (http://bugs.debian.org/).
If you find a bug in the distribution or in packaged software that is
part of it, please report it so that it can be properly fixed for next
releases. Reporting bugs requires a valid email address, we ask for
this so that we can trace bugs and developers can get in contact with
submitters should they need more information.
You can submit a bug report using the program `reportbug' or manually
using email. You can read more about the Bug Tracking System and how
to use it by reading the reference cards (available at
`/usr/share/doc/debian' if you have `doc-debian' installed) or online
at the Bug Tracking System (http://bugs.debian.org/).
6.4. Contributing to Debian
---------------------------
You do not need to be an expert to contribute to Debian. By assisting
users with problems on the various user support lists
(http://lists.debian.org/) you are contributing to the community.
Identifying (and importantly solving) problems related to the
development of the distribution by participating on the development
lists (http://lists.debian.org/) is also extremely helpful. To
maintain Debian's high quality distribution submit bugs
(http://bugs.debian.org/) and help developers track them down and fix
them. If you have a way with words then you may want to contribute
more actively by helping to write documentation
(http://www.debian.org/doc/ddp) or translate
(http://www.debian.org/international/) existing documentation into
your own language.
If you can dedicate more time, you could manage a piece of the Free
Software collection within Debian. Especially helpful is if people
adopt or maintain items that people have requested for inclusion
within Debian, the Work Needing and Prospective Packages database
(http://www.debian.org/devel/wnpp/) details this information. If you
have an interest in specific groups then you may find enjoyment in
contributing to some of Debian's subprojects which include ports to
particular architectures, Debian Jr.
(http://www.debian.org/devel/debian-jr/) and Debian Med
(http://www.debian.org/devel/debian-med/).
In any case, if you are working in the free software community in any
way, as a user, programmer, writer or translator you are already
helping the free software effort. Contributing is rewarding and fun,
and as well as allowing you to meet new people it gives you that warm
fuzzy feeling inside.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A. Managing your woody system
-----------------------------
This appendix contains information on how to make sure you can install
or upgrade woody packages before you upgrade to sarge. This should
only be necessary in specific situations.
A.1. Upgrading your woody system
--------------------------------
Basically this is no different than any other upgrade of woody you've
been doing. The only difference is that you first need to make sure
your package list still contains woody packages as explained in
Section A.3, `Checking your sources list'.
A.2. Installing woody version of aptitude
-----------------------------------------
First you need to make sure you will install woody's version of
`aptitude' and not sarge's by following the instructions in Section
A.3, `Checking your sources list'.
After that, just execute
# apt-get install aptitude
to install `aptitude'.
A.3. Checking your sources list
-------------------------------
If any of the lines in your `/etc/apt/sources.list' refer to 'stable',
you are effectively already "using" sarge. If you have already run
`apt-get update', you can still get back without problems following
the procedure below.
If you have also already installed packages from sarge, there probably
is not much point in installing packages from woody anymore. In that
case you will have to decide for yourself whether you want to continue
or not. It is possible to downgrade packages, but that is not covered
here.
Open the file `/etc/apt/sources.list' with your favorite editor (as
root) and check all lines beginning with `deb http:' or `deb ftp:' for
a reference to "`stable'". If you find any, change `stable' to
`woody'.
If you have any lines starting with `deb file:', you will have to
check for yourself if the location they refer to contains a woody or a
sarge archive.
_Important!_ Do not change any lines that begin with `deb cdrom:'.
Doing so would invalidate the line and you would have to run
`apt-cdrom' again. Do not be alarmed if a 'cdrom' source line refers
to "`unstable'". Although confusing, this is normal.
If you've made any changes, save the file and execute
# apt-get update
to refresh the package list.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Release Notes for Debian GNU/Linux 3.1 (`sarge'), Alpha
Josip Rodin, Bob Hilliard, Adam Di Carlo, Anne Bezemer, Rob Bradford
(current), Frans Pop (current)
$Id: release-notes.en.sgml,v 1.71 2006/09/18 13:21:10 fjp Exp $